How can I continuously turn a sense of "lock-up" into a flow from idea to action?

How do I find the motivation to get started?

How to stop reading self-help books and start doing?

So I created this little 10-minute training video to answer them. In it, I explain how to use natural "pull" motivation to instantly turn thoughts into action... the way the thought of having some chocolate cake can quickly turn into action!

So watch, learn, and enjoy! Oh, and don't forget to leave a comment here, to let me know what you think.

First time I've seen/heard you after reading Dirt Simple for a long time. Nice video - clean, clear, and (for once) the audio was good quality (that's the main reason I don't often bother with videos).

And... I've got a clean desk. What can I say? No real "ra-ra, let's DO this thing", motivation. More like a "Ah well, might as well do it anyway" motivation. Just like picking the fork up and cutting into the chocolate cake: the lifting up of the fork isn't that exciting either, but we still do it!

Thanks very much PJ, I downloaded your "How to make yourself do anything" workshop. It's like nothing else out there. Good work!!! Very interesting! Great audio presentation! Looking forward to your next book; and to using your 10 minute video "pull" technique when I am stuck in my next "spot".

Of course, I did say in the video that nothing about the steps themselves was new, and that's especially true of the first step: I mean geez, EVERYBODY says you should see your end result in mind!

The other two steps are not so commonly mentioned, though, and I don't think I've ever seen anyone put all 3 steps in the same place before; I've only seen 1+2 (in some law of attraction" stuff) and 1+3 (almost exclusively in the work of Robert Fritz and those deriving from him).

Of course, the really important question isn't whether ANY of this is new, it's whether you're USING it to make a difference in your life. Are you?

(If not, it really doesn't matter if it's 10,000 years old... and any interesting built-in features of the brain are probably going to be at least that old, so it's kind of presumptuous to call ANY self-help technique "new"!)

I can't even remember how I came across this video, but I'm totally impressed. One clean desk later, I'm excited to think about the other ways this technique could be used!

My only problem was the inclusion of "faith" and Napoleon Hill's work in things you termed as rubbish and "nonsense." I just very respectfully disagree. People who would list faith as somehting that's very important to them could take offense. The only reason I even mention it is because you do ask for feedback and opinions, so I know you're looking for negatives (though from where I sit, there's just this one) as well as positives. As someone who loved 99.9 percent of your video, I just wanted to point out the little second that kept it from being a 100 percent. (I've also lumped this together in a paragraph that you're free to edit out before it appears on your blog - after all, you're the only one this feedback is intened for.)

Having said that, I really believe in what you're doing and teaching.

I wish you nothing but the best with your book. You're really onto something amazing and you strike me as one of those people who will have as much success in life as he wants.

I can't wait to show my daughters this video in relation to clean rooms and homework. Oh joy!

Don't bother; one guy already tried that with getting his teenage daughter to clean her room. The catch is that it has to pass the "mmmm" test, so if they don't see anything good about having the room clean or homework done, it won't help. ;-)

(Of course, if they're asking for *help*, then it's a different story.)

Regarding faith, I think it's quite straightforward to establish that the *word* "faith" adds little to the discussion of how to motivate one's self. If somebody says they are motivated by "faith" this only helps another person if that other person means the exact same thing by the word "faith". If the second person thinks of that word differently, then they might struggle indefinitely without any success, and then rightly conclude that "faith" is not helping.

Thus, I prefer to instruct people in the actual process they must follow in their mind, by which they might obtain a result. Then, whatever word they choose to call it by is irrelevant.

But I don't really mind offending people who see "faith" as an answer to things. There are plenty of "faith-based" materials out there in the world for them to read or view, but VERY little available for people who need precision and testability.

Also, concepts like "faith" and "belief" have another flaw besides lacking precision: they are routinely used by the "guilt-trip gurus" to move responsibility from themselves to their clients.

That is, they have a built-in excuse so that if you don't succeed, the guru need only say that your faith obviously isn't strong enough.

This is a shameful excuse for not actually helping people with their problems, and it doesn't matter whether the excuse is made by a shrink with a degree, a guru with an infomercial, or some shaman with a cross and collar.

I am delighted by how you fit the abstract truths of visualization etc into an analytical and procedural format. I've shared this with several people I use it all the time.
Thank you PJ incredibly helpful!
J

Wow, PJ, I've been watching this video with my desk entirely covered with papers, pens, business cards etc. I havent cleaned my desk after watching the video tho, since I'm too busy having my meal (You should understand me) but Im sure my girlfriend needs this piece of information on motivation. She cant get to to a gym for several years now and this video should help. Thank you from russia with love.

Certainly, it didn't help me with that. But I'm working on another technique that boosts determination for things you want to make a habit (like exercise) and I may release it as a separate product within a month or two.

Love this! That one I am definitely taking with me and using to validate I'm coming from a place of more, not less. Beautiful. Also, push vs pull motivation; first time I've heard about this concept. Makes a lot of sense.

Seriously... I might be on the "woo-woo" side for some, however, I firmly believe that we are all drawing from a large bucket of intelligence (consciousness)... so no need to explain why this info is not new. None of it is, really and how could it be?

I believe it's all about how the info is delivered. Sometimes it's the voice. Sometimes it's a process that has been created. In the end, the only thing that matters to me is "if" I got it and how I'll be using it.

Wow PJ, this really made "The Secret" understandable. The mini-goal example was REALLY helpful to test if one is doing "The Secret" correctly. This is definitely going to make my blog for "WOW" techniques I discover and use. I'll Twitter this video, and StumbleUpon it, and Digg it, and ???? so that everyone can benefit from your book. Thanks for your work!

One thing interesting with your little video is that it worked with me. Got a super neat clean desk and surprisingly still is 2 days later! ;)

Now i can't help but notice that one reason that explains
the success of this particualar video is the fact that
there is no possible important negative beliefs that could
stop us from doing that pretty easy task. There is no things
like "oh my god i don't deserve to have a clean desk" or I would be a horrible person if i had a clean desk". No obvious identity matters here just a little common procrastination thing. I want to believe that it would work that well for things that count like changing really bad habits, changing the way i eat, going to the gym when i hate it or having an interview for a job when you think you're a failure for example...

Thing is, the techniques for fixing those negative beliefs and such won't fit into a single 10 minute video... especially because people's negative "stuff" is a lot more complex and individual. I do teach techniques for eliminating those things, of course, but mainly in the context of my private membership programs where there's at least some ability to do more personal interaction.

Once you get rid of those things then, yes, the same technique works quite well.

Two tips: one, focus on what beliefs are making you feel pressured to begin with -- not the immediate obstacles, but why you feel you "have to" fix your eating habits, for example.

Two, even if you have a problem, try to do the technique *anyway*... because the bad feelings that come up instead of the "mmmm" will now give you a direct clue as to what your *real* problem is.

Just watched your video on wimp.com via Facebook. Your steps in the 10 min segment worked for the visualization of my messy kitchen to the degree that my mental filters would allow. It helped very much and I look forward to more of your work. Well done and Thankyou!

Does this technique work on school related stuff too?
Like projects, tests, etc. Can I motivate myself to actually finish projects the night before its due? Can I motivate myself to study for finals and exams a month before the upcoming Finals? Thank you for the awesome and hope you will have a great holiday.

The first time I watched this, I gleefully cleaned my desk afterwards. Being redirected to the video as I read through chapter six, I am having a hard time not getting up, despite the late hour, and cleaning my desk.

Reading the book, it is clear that you have a firm grasp of a lot of the recent findings of neuroscience, and positive psychology. And that you are not a naturally optimistic thinker makes your book actually valuable to the sorts of people (like me) who need it.